NHL shows it’s never too hot for hockey
THE 2017 NHL Awards and NHL Expansion Draft show is upon us. So are temperatures that can turn an ice rink into a mini-lake Las Vegas in the time it takes to serve a two-minute minor.
No matter.
“It’s hot, but it’s not too hot to get into hockey,” says Steve Mayer, the league’s chief content officer and executive vice president. The awards presentation and draft selection airs live from T-mobile Arena at 5 p.m. today on NBCSN and Sportsnet.
The Vegas Golden Knights might be the league’s newest team, but the city has hosted seven NHL Awards shows since 2009, moving from the Palms to Wynn Las Vegas to the MGM Grand Garden to the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel. Mayer has produced three of those shows and says no NHL awards production has been as big or adventurous as the spectacle set for the 18,500-seat T-mobile Arena.
The format is for an awards presentation, followed by a block of player selections in four segments.
The show is hosted by Joe Manganiello of the “Magic Mike” films, with a performance by Canadian alt-rock band Arkells. This year the NHL marked its 100th anniversary by naming its 100 greatest players of all time, and several are presenting awards, among them Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Marcel Dionne, Bob Gainey, Ted Lindsay, Mark Messier, Denis Potvin and Bernie Parent.
The show will incorporate clips from such longtime headliners as Penn & Teller and Blue Man Group, and Canadian transplant Mark Shunock, founder of The Space entertainment venue and formerly of “Rock of Ages,” will entertain the crowd during commercial breaks.
“You’re going to see a lot of pomp and style in the show, some great personalities, great highlights on the ice and how we like to do things big,” Mayer said. “We’re doing this in a new arena — it used to be held in 1,500- or 1,600-seat theaters — and people are going to see how NHL is done in Vegas. When they see that, they’ll say, ‘Wow, hockey is pretty cool.’ ”
More Ice and T-mobile
One winner already in the Floyd Mayweather-conor Mcgregor bout is Ice Cube. The rap star will likely receive a nice stipend for moving his Big 3 basketball tournament — an event that has benefited from unexpected media coverage — from T-mobile Arena to the MGM Grand for the Aug. 26 bout. I’m confidently informed that the Big 3 event will be scheduled so it ends before Mayweather and Mcgregor step into the ring.
Strip is Beautiful
Rehan Choudhry, known mostly as founder of the annual Life is Beautiful festival in downtown Las Vegas, on Tuesday announced the inaugural Emerge Music and Impact Conference, which will be Nov. 16-18 and will feature more than 100 emerging artists and speakers at multiple Strip venues. Choudhry made the announcement at Vinyl at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Despite his strong connection to downtown, Choudhry is returning to his roots on the Strip.
“A lot of people don’t realize that I moved here to open up a casino on the Strip, as head of entertainment at The Cosmopolitan,” he said. “So my first experiences in Las Vegas were in the heart of the Strip.”
Thus, Choudhry has booked many Strip venues, such as Brooklyn Bowl, the Linq Showroom, Harrah’s Showroom and the Cabaret at Planet Hollywood for the Emerge conference. He’s also roped in Vinyl and the Joint at Hard Rock Hotel.
“The beauty of Las Vegas is we have more multimillion-dollar concert venues per capita than anywhere else in the world, and they are underutilized,” Choudhry said. “We’re taking over all those venues and giving artists a chance to play these spaces.”
Expect Drai’s at the Cromwell to host an EDM event and the Spiegeltent, home of “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace, to join the Emerge lineup.
Who was where
Insomniac Events and Electric Daisy Carnival founder Pasquale Rotella and his wife, Holly Madison, spent Friday night at Marquee Skydeck at EDC. The festival and club have special meaning for the couple, who met at the first EDC held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2011 and spent their first date at Marquee nightclub at The Cosmopolitan a year later.
Also at the Marquee VIP deck on Friday: Vegas frequenters Drew Carey and Paris Hilton.
On Saturday, Matthew Mcconaughey and his wife, Camila Mcconaughey, hosting their charity blackjack tournament at The Venetian to benefit their Just Keep Livin foundation for at-risk teens.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@ reviewjournal.com. Follow @ johnnykats on Twitter, @Johnnykats1 on Instagram. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday:
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